


Lavender and Citrus

by CitrineSunshine



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Bisexuality, Coming Out, Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, Gay Panic, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:55:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28386591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CitrineSunshine/pseuds/CitrineSunshine
Summary: Lavender has a massive crush on Ron, but Granger always seems to get in the way. Even when Lavender finally snags Ron, Granger continues to make problems for her. Lavender just can't get Granger out of her mind.
Relationships: Lavender Brown/Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

Lavender could _not_ stand Granger. If it wasn’t for her, her big hair, and annoying know-it-all behavior, Lavender would have a much easier time getting closer to Ron. She constantly thought of how to separate Granger and Ron, as they were clearly tied at the hip. She stared out the common room window, thinking of all the ways she could split them apart. It was early November, and the leaves had already fallen from the trees. The first snow would be any day now. “I just don’t get why they are always together,” she groaned at her best friend Parvati Patil.

“Well, Lavender, they have been best friends ever since he saved her from that troll in first year, remember? She used to have no friends, but he and Harry changed that for her. Hermione is actually quite nice if you try to get to know her. She always helps me with my Charms homework,” Parvati responded.

“Ugh, you know I don’t want to hear about how wonderful Hermione-Freaking-Granger is. Like, oh wow, she is a muggleborn witch who’s the most brilliant student to grace our halls! Give me a break. She isn’t so innocent underneath it all, I just know it,” Lavender fumed. She hated that her best friend was being reasonable and defending Granger. Parvati should just realize that she wanted to vent about her feelings. Sher already knew that Hermione was smart, beautiful, and kind.

Parvati seemed to sit there for minutes before speaking. “Lav… I know you don’t like her because you like Weasley. I get that-- I really do. But you should give her a chance. She isn’t my favorite person in the world, but she isn’t the reason you can’t talk to Weasley. You just want someone to blame. I almost think you care more about Hermione than you do Ron,” With that, Parvati stood up, grabbed her Divination assignment, and headed up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories, which was right next to the table where they had been studying in the Gryffindor common room.

Lavender sat there shocked. This was just supposed to be a venting session! She didn’t ask for advice or a lesson on being a good person. Feeling angry with the previous interaction, she decided to head to the library to finish her homework. She was struggling to find the information she needed for her essay on Goblin Wars in her textbook, and she suddenly didn’t like the energy in the common room.

She walked slowly to the library so she’d have some time to think to herself. It was true that Granger hadn’t done anything to her personally. She just happened to be best friends with the boy she had a massive crush on. Ron was so handsome with his wavy red hair and light freckles. It also helped that he was so tall and athletic. He honestly was her dream boyfriend. If there was a true Gryffindor among the house, it was Ronald Bilius Weasley. She hated how obvious it was that he liked Granger.

She rounded the last corner to get to the library when she nearly ran into Ron Weasley himself. “Ooof! Oh, hi Ron! Funny seeing you here. Where are you headed from?” Lavender asked breathlessly. 

“Oh hey. Uh. I was just in the library with Hermione. She was helping me with some Transfiguration research. Um. Anyways, I’ll see you around,” he said in a hurry. He didn’t even wait for Lavender’s response before jogging off towards Gryffindor Tower. She remembered seeing Potter sitting near the fireplace reading a ratty old copy of this year’s Potions book. He must be headed to hang out with Potter or something. She wished she could have talked to him more. It would have been perfect if this run-in could have led to deeper feelings.

“In the library with Granger? Dammit,” she muttered to herself as she stood in the hallway. She was deciding whether or not to still go to the library when Granger herself ran around the corner, only moments after Ron had. This time, however, they collided. And they collided hard.

“Fuck, watch it Granger!” Lavender exclaimed as she held her nose. When she looked in her hand, there was a pool of blood. She tenderly felt her nose. Great, broken, she thought to herself. Just what she needed-- to look like a hook nosed witch in front of Ron Weasley in class tomorrow. She looked at Granger with anger only to be surprised to see how concerned she looked.

“Oh, Lavender, I am so sorry. I was just in a hurry and-- well-- oh my goodness. Please, let me fix your nose for you. Luna Lovegood fixed Harry’s nose earlier in the year, and when I found out, I had her give me lessons. I have become pretty good if I do say myself. If you are uncomfortable… I could take you to the infirmary,” she wheezed. She had said all of that as fast as she possibly could. This made Lavender giggle, as Granger seemed foolish. Lavender had to stop herself.

“Uh, Granger… I mean Hermione… are you sure you can handle it? I don’t want to end up even more busted.”

“Oh, I mean, yeah I think I have got it down. Stand still,” she muttered as she pulled out her wand. With a flick and a quick incantation, Lavender felt a sharp pain in her nose and heard a loud pop. She threw her hands up to her face, feeling her nose and the surrounding area. Her nose was perfect and there was no residual pain. Despite how she felt about Granger, she was grateful. With that being said, she could never let Granger know that.

“Thank you, but I didn’t really say you could do that. What if you had permanently disfigured me? Or like… dissolved my nasal bones the way Professor Lockhart did to Potter’s arm in second year? Be more careful from now on,” she barked before walking away towards the library. She hated to admit it, but Granger had impressed her. Her nose may even be better now than it was before. Lavender had to remind herself that Granger was the reason her nose was busted. She sat down at a table far from the library entrance and pulled out her History of Magic materials before getting to work.

Once Lavender felt satisfied with her essay, she stood up and stretched. She looked around the library, surveying the faces. There weren’t many people left in the library, as it was so late, but she could see a few Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs grouped up. She wasn’t particularly close to any of them, so she packed up her stuff and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. “Eye of Newt,” she mumbled to the portrait of the Fat Lady before climbing through the entrance, dragging her feet to the girls’ stairs.

When she opened the door to the sixth year girls’ dormitory, she saw Granger sleeping soundlessly in her bed. Parvati was twisted in her sheets, while Dunbar was curled up into a ball. Lavender opened the curtains to her own bed and crawled under her blankets. It was cold in the castle, especially at night. She got comfortable, closed her eyes, and immediately fell asleep.

***

With a start, Lavender shot up in her bed. There was an incessant thumping from Dunbar’s four-poster. Upon further inspection, it appeared that Dunbar had enchanted a gavel to pound on her side table. Lavender knew that muggles used machines that beeped loudly to wake them up at certain times of the day. This must’ve been the same idea. “Dunbar! Wake up! Your gavel is pounding a hole straight into my brain,” she cried as she rubbed her temples. Dunbar didn’t wake up. What did she even need to be up this early for? It had to be like 5 am. It was still dark outside.

“Oh, let me,” Granger whimpered. She waved her wand, and the gavel stopped pounding the side table. Dunbar still never woke up or even stirred. Whatever she had to do or wherever she needed to be, she was going to be late, because Lavender was going to go back to sleep. Granger also appeared to have no intentions of waking her. Lavender then saw Pavarti climb out of bed and shake Dunbar, who barely opened one eye before swatting Parvati out of the way. 

“Oh Parvati, just let her sleep,” Lavender suggested. “There really is no waking her. She’s chronically late everywhere.” Parvati shrugged and went back to her own bed. Lavender, unable to quiet her mind at this point, got up and decided to get ready for the day. 

Lavender was not a prefect. In fact, Granger, the goody-two-shoes-know-it-all was Gryffindor’s 6th year girl prefect. This fact, however, did not stop Lavender from discovering the secret prefects' bathroom and the password. She put on her robes and grabbed her toiletry bag before making her way to the prefects' bathroom. This early morning was a perfect chance to infiltrate and enjoy the luxuries of 50 different soaps and excellent water pressure. 

She walked up to the hidden entrance to the prefects' bathroom and whispered the password. She didn’t want anyone to hear her if there was anyone in the halls. The entrance opened, and she tiptoed into the bathroom. Once the entrance closed, she let out a large sigh. She’d already discovered that the walls were sound proof to reduce the chances of the bathroom being found. It also looked as if no one was in the bathroom. Lavender immediately started setting up the perfect bath. She turned on the lavender soap, of course, along with the skin-clarifying soap and the muscle-relaxing soap. Lucky for her, each tap was labeled. Some had scents printed on them, while others had effects printed on them. 

Lavender stripped off her clothes with a careful glance over her shoulder and eased herself into the massive tub. The tub itself could hold ten or more people, but wouldn’t that be weird? Apparently communal bathing was popular in the early days of Hogwarts, but that cultural practice had long become unpopular. Lavender got deep into the tub until her chin was lightly bobbing across the water. She did a couple of laps around the tub then began to wet her hair. She used the hair-shine shampoo and massaged her scalp. “These prefects sure have it good,” she mused aloud while closing her eyes. “They get to have this luxury anytime they want, while I have to sneak around.”

Once Lavender was satisfied with her hygiene, she dried off, got dressed, and styled her hair. A lot of the girls in her year had started wearing muggle makeup, so Lavender got herself some too. She applied mascara and lipgloss before finally leaving the prefects' bathroom. She noticed when she rounded the corner of the hall that a lot of people were up and about. It was the first Sunday of November, so all the students were gearing up for the first Quidditch match of the year. 

“Hey! Lavender!” someone shouted from down the hall. “Where’ve you been?” She whipped around to find Parvati jogging towards her. “I’ve been looking all over for you! Let’s go to breakfast. I heard it is going to be quite the feast with Quidditch season starting. I say we stuff ourselves and then head down to the pitch to get a good seat.”

“Sure,” Lavender replied. “I want to make sure I have the perfect seat to watch Ron as keeper. I just know he is going to look so rugged and strong while protecting those rings,” she said dreamily. She fantasized into the distance while Parvarti waved her hand through Lavender’s thought bubble.

“Yeah, yeah. You have a boner for Weasley, we get it already!” she giggled. “But seriously, I am so hungry.” They quickly walked towards the dining hall and found a seat. Lavender looked around for Ron. When she finally found him, he was sitting with Potter and Granger, of course. He looked sick. Lavender hoped he would be okay and play his best as she sent him a silent prayer. 

Once Parvarti had finished feasting, she and Lavender left the table to make their way down to the Quidditch pitch. They huddled together to brace the cold and walked quickly down the winding path. They chose a spot on the benches close to the Gryffindor goalposts. Parvati conjured a tiny flame inside a jar, the same way she had learned from Granger. She placed it between her and Lavender, which Lavender appreciated. She warmed up her hands and scanned the ground for the Gryffindor team. They would be playing Slytherin, Gryffindor’s natural rivals. 

“Y’know Lav… you smell quite good this morning. What is that?” Parvati asked.

“Oh, it is lavender scented soap. I.. uh.. had my mum send me some by owl,” she lied absentmindedly. While Pavarti was her best friend, she thought she would better escape detection in the prefects' bathroom if she kept it to herself.

“Well, it smells lovely! I need to get myself something nice as well. I have been using the standard shampoo that the school provides, but it doesn’t really smell like much.” She rambled on and on, but Lavender had stopped listening. She’d spotted Ron, or as she cutely called him in her head, Won. He looked as good in his Quidditch jersey as she previously remembered. His strong arms were stretching the material in such a sexy way. She stared at him for a long time before Parvati smacked her arm. “Hey! I am talking to you!”

“Oh, sorry Par. I was… uh… distracted,” she smiled innocently. “Ron just looks so good in his uniform. It looks like they are getting ready to start.”

***

“Oh my god, Par! Did you see that one save he made where he rolled his broom? He is honestly a Quidditch God. I don’t think I have ever liked him as much as I do now,” Lavender squealed.

“I was there, I saw it. Honestly, I am kind of impressed with his playing tonight. I expected a lot worse from what I saw at his tryouts,” Parvati said thoughtfully. “Maybe I am starting to see what you see in him.” Lavender responded with a death glare which made Parvarti quickly say, “Just kidding! You know I fancy Harry. It’s a shame he was such a bad Yule Ball date though. I guess that ship has long sailed.”

“You better be joking,” Lavender laughed. When the two of them returned to the common room, some of the other Gryffindors were already partying to celebrate the win over Slytherin. There was loud talking, small explosions, and tasty sweets all over the place. It wasn’t long until the Quidditch team returned to the common room, and everyone cheered for them. Ron especially was enjoying himself. “Par… I am going to do it. I am going to snog Ron.”

Before Parvati could talk her out of it, Lavender made her way across the common room. She was prepared as she ever would be. Her hair was done, her makeup perfect, and she had her signature lavender scent. Before she knew what she was doing, she was running into Ron’s arms snogging him deeply. Ron surprised her by reciprocating the kiss and deepening it. She heard the cheering get louder, which made her more confident. 

After what felt like eons, she pulled herself from Ron and looked into his eyes. “I like you Ronald Weasley,” she said matter-of-factly. 

“Wow Lavender, I never knew you felt that way about me. Uh, you’re not so bad yourself mate,” he said breathlessly with a goofy smile. “We should do this again sometime.”

Lavender was about to respond eagerly when she looked over Ron’s shoulder and saw Granger. She was shocked at what she saw. Granger had a deep anguished look on her face. Lavender could have sworn she saw a tear slide down her cheek before Granger ran off in the other direction with Potter on her tail. She then remembered that she was currently in Ron’s arms. “Oh, yeah, of course.”

She and Ron snuck away for some more snogging, but something just didn’t feel right to Lavender. She has imagined this moment for years now, and she really had enjoyed her kiss with Ron, but the look she saw on Granger’s face shocked her to her core.


	2. Chapter 2

Lavender was a bit surprised by how easily she had wooed Ron. She had been pining over him since, like, third year, yet it only took one bold decision to secure him as her boyfriend. They had been inseparable since November 3rd, the date Lavender considered to be her and Ron’s anniversary date. December had already rolled around, and snow was starting to blanket the grounds. Everything sparkled, reminding the students of the wonderful holidays to come. 

Even though she had her dreams come true and Ron was her boyfriend, Lavender was struggling with a pit in her stomach. She had noticed since the night she saw Granger crying that she and Ron had stopped spending time together. Part of Lavender was thrilled at this. She no longer had to worry about competing with Granger for Ron’s attention. The other part of Lavender was somewhat disappointed. This conflicting emotion had her confused anytime she went on dates with Ron.

Lavender packed up her Transfiguration homework from studying in the library and worked her way towards the courtyard for her date with Ron. She was walking slowly, thinking, when she heard a male voice behind her.

“Hey, Lav! I’m glad I caught you. Let’s walk to the courtyard together,” Ron said with a smile. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him before wrapping his arm around her shoulder, still holding her hand. Lavender snuggled into his warm embrace.

“You smell so good Won, what is that?” she wondered out loud.

“Oh, do I?” he asked cheerfully. “It’s a cologne from Hermione. She gave it to me as an early Christmas gift. I thought it smelled manly, so I wore it to our date. It smells great doesn’t it?”

Lavender went silent. Granger was giving her boyfriend Christmas gifts? She hadn’t even given Ron a gift yet, but Granger beat her to it? She thought about the little sweetheart necklace she had sitting in her bedside table drawer waiting to be wrapped and gifted. Her insides boiled. “Oh, how great that she thought of you even though she hasn’t even spoken to you in over a month,” Lavender quipped. 

“Oh, Lav, come off it. She is still one of my best mates. I wish you two would hang out. It would be much easier if we could all just spend some time together.”

“I prefer to spend time alone with my Won, is that a bad thing?” she responded. She felt like she was putting on a show. As his girlfriend, she was supposed to put on an act of jealousy right? She agreed that she should be jealous, but was she? She was struggling to understand her own feelings.

“Well, of course not,” he said through a flirtatious grin. “In fact, do you want to maybe spend a little bit of time alone with me in say…. an empty classroom on our way to the courtyard?” He started to veer them off their path.

Lavender giggled, forgetting her previous annoyance, and followed Ron as he took her to the closest empty room. Professor McGonagall was supposed to be on the patrol this evening looking for misbehaving students. Lavender figured they had maybe another hour before her rounds were supposed to start.

Ron closed the classroom door behind him and slowly pressed Lavender onto a desk. He snogged her lightly before running his fingers through her curls. It was then that Lavender took the initiative and reached up for a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms behind his neck, pulling him down towards her. Lavender loved making out with Ron-- it seemed to be their favorite thing to do. If she had to count, she would say that she has had more snogging sessions with Ron than conversations. 

“Mmm,” Lavender hummed. “This is the best kind of alone time.” She unhooked her arms from his neck and slowly ran her hands down his sides, tracing swirls with her fingers as she went. She firmly landed her hands on his hips and held on.

“God, Lav. I just never get used to how good you smell,” Ron groaned. He was reaching for second base, while Lavender had third base in mind when the classroom door flung open. The two tore apart from each other, and Lavender jumped off the desk she was sitting on.

“Brown, Weasley. Five points from Gryffindor for each of you. Hurry off to Gryffindor Tower and do _not_ make any detours. I will know,” Professor McGonagall said with pursed lips.

“Yes, Professor McGonagall,” the two said in unison. The scurried off, embarrassed they had been caught in such an intimate moment by a teacher.

“Oh my god, Won. We cannot get caught like that again. That was mortifying!” Lavender cried as soon as they were far enough from the classroom.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize she would be rounding students up so early tonight. Why is it always me?” he whined.

“I just realized we didn’t even get to go on our date. We wasted all our time in that stupid classroom,” Lavender complained. She had been looking forward to eating treats she had been saving from Honeydukes.

“We can always hang out again. I’ll try to make sure we get a proper date before the holidays start,” Ron promised. 

She wasn’t so sure he could make good on his promise, as the holidays were starting in less than a week, but she decided to trust him. “Okay, just keep me updated I guess.” They had made their way to Gryffindor Tower and were headed towards their respective stairs. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she spoke in a whisper before reaching for a peck and going up to her bed.

As she opened the door to the sixth year girls’ dormitory, her eyes automatically fell upon Granger, who was sleeping with her mouth slightly open. Lavender thought it was a bit cute, but caught herself in that thought. Granger was sneaking Ron Christmas gifts, which Lavender hated. She shouldn’t be finding Granger’s sleeping habits _cute_.

***

“Lav, let’s spend some time together after classes today,” Ron suggested as he sat next to Lavender in the Great Hall. She was eating a plate of toast and beans, while Ron began to pile massive amounts of sausage and eggs onto his plate. 

“Sure, what do you have in mind?” she asked. Surprise, surprise. Ron was going to make time for her after all.

“I was thinking we could give each other our Christmas gifts, since the holiday break will be starting tomorrow,” he suggested. “I want to make sure I see your face when you open your present.”

“Oh, I’d love that! I just need to wrap your gift, so maybe we could meet an hour after classes end? So I have some time to go grab it and stuff,” she replied. She had been second guessing her gift for Ron, but it was now or never she supposed.

“That works for me,” he agreed before digging into his breakfast. Once Ron got started, there was no interrupting his meal time. He was a bottomless hole.

Lavender stood up, bent over to kiss his cheek, and met up with Parvati at the entrance to the Great Hall so they could walk to class together. “Hey Par. How have you been this morning?” Lavender asked tiredly.

“Oh, y’know. The usual. I stayed up late working on a dream chart for Divination, so I have been struggling to keep my eyes open this morning,” Parvati replied while stifling a yawn. Both Lavender and Parvati loved Divination, but Lavender had been a bit more distracted lately. “You have a nice breakfast with Ron?”

“Yeah, I guess so. He mostly just ate while I sat there. He did ask me on a little date after class though. We’re going to exchange our holiday gifts.”

“Oh, that’s cute. Make sure you let me know what he gets you,” Parvati said with a smile. She seemed to be really happy for Lavender. If only she knew the conflicting feelings Lavender had been feeling lately. 

“You know I will. I tell you everything,” Lavender responded. The girls both made it to the entrance of their first class of the day and sat down quietly before getting to work. 

The rest of the day seemed to go slowly for Lavender. All she could think about was her date with Ron later that day. She was nervous and excited all at once. When the last class of the day let out, Lavender ran to Gryffindor Tower to wrap her gift for Ron. When she’d finished with the final touches on the wrapping, she realized Ron hadn’t told her where to meet him. She cautiously walked down the girls’ dormitory steps to see him waiting in the common room. 

“Hey, Lav! I forgot to tell you where to meet me, so I just came here. I remembered you said you would have to come back here. Want to open our gifts by the fire?” he asked flirtatiously.

“Oh no problem, I would have found you eventually. I’d love to sit by the fire,” she giggled. They both took their places on the loveseat closest to the fire and got close. Lavender reached for his hand and interlocked her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand in return.

“Here, open mine first,” he said nervously. The box he was handing her was quite tiny. She quickly ripped the ribbon off and lifted the lid. Inside was a rhinestone hair clip. It wasn’t really her style, but she thanked him and gave him a quick kiss anyway. She knew he didn’t come from money, so she was pleased to receive anything from him either way.

“It’s beautiful,” she assured him while putting the clip in her hair. “Open mine next.”

Ron tore off the wrapping paper, ignoring the bow on top. Once he got to the necklace, Lavender saw the color drain from his face. Uh-oh. “Thanks, Lav, really,” he said with some wobble to his voice. “Uh, I love it.”

“I’m sorry if you don’t like it. I started to wonder if you even like necklaces, but it was too late to change my gift.”

“Oh, no! Lav, I swear I’ll wear it. Don’t feel bad. See, here, I am putting it on now,” Ron responded as he forced a smile. Lavender tried to feel more confident, but she knew they had both blown their first chance at giving each other gifts. It was starting to become more obvious that they didn’t really know each other that well.

“Thanks,” Lavender whispered. There was a long awkward pause as they both stared into the fire. They continued to hold hands, but the energy just wasn’t the same. At that moment, Granger had walked through the portrait entrance to the common room. 

“Oh hey! Hermione! Come sit with us,” Ron shouted across the room. Ron and Granger really hadn’t been getting along recently, so he must’ve been desperately trying to cut the tension by inviting her over. Lavender could see the reluctance in Granger’s eyes, but Granger walked over anyway.

“Hey you two. On a date?” she asked shyly.

“Yeah, but have a sit mate. I want my best mate and my girlfriend to get along,” Ron said in a perky voice. 

“Hello, Hermione. You can sit if you want,” Lavender invited neutrally. At this point, she would even welcome Granger to avoid how weird her date with Ron was going.

“Uh, thanks guys. What are yall up to?” Granger asked innocently. She wasn’t aware of what had just happened. Ron and Lavender looked at each other and then away.

“We just gave each other our Christmas gifts. Um. How has SPEW been going?” This must’ve been the right thing for Ron to say, because it encouraged Granger to go on a long tangent about the rights of House Elves or something. Lavender began to space out a little when Ron said “Wow, I guess things are really taking off then?”

“Yes, I have even convinced three more people to join our group. You know Hannah Abbot? It took a lot of effort, but she paid the club fee and has agreed to defend house elves if they are ever brought up in conversation,” she said with a large smile and clapping her hands. This brought Lavender out of her daze as she looked at Granger’s perfect teeth. She wondered when Granger had fixed her buck teeth. She also noticed that as Granger clapped her hands, the smell of citrus wafted off her.

“I suppose you are quite the charitable type, then, Hermione?” Lavender asked. Why was she suddenly interested?

“I try to be, but it has been hard to promote elvish welfare, if I am being honest. People just do not seem to care about them. It breaks my heart.” Lavender noticed Hermione slump into the couch with this admission.

“I am sure more people will come around. Just keep it up. You might even convince me,” Lavender replied reassuringly. This was getting weird. Why was she trying to make Granger, the bane of her existence, feel better? “Anyways, I am heading to bed. Goodnight Ron.” She released his hand, gave him a light kiss, and scurried away. This whole evening had been so bizarre, and she was ready to pass out in the privacy of the drawn curtains on her four-poster.

Lavender had just pulled her curtains closed when she heard the door to the room open and close lightly. Lavender could sense Granger standing outside her curtains, so she pulled them open slowly. “Can I help you?” Lavender asked with suspicion.

“No, I just wanted to thank you for listening to me talk about SPEW. Ron usually just brushes it off. Harry as well. I know they would ultimately help the house elves, but it was nice to be encouraged by you. Anyways, thanks again. Goodnight,” she said before walking to her own bed. Granger had started changing her clothes into her pajamas.

“Goodnight,” Lavender whispered as she gazed at Granger. It wasn’t until Granger was down to her knickers that Lavender realized she was staring. She quickly whipped her head around and shut her curtains tightly. Things were only getting weirder for Lavender.


	3. Chapter 3

Lavender was  _ not _ looking forward to seeing Ron again. She had avoided him since their gift exchange, choosing to ignore the reality that her relationship with him was doomed. He was good for snogging, but that was about it. They really didn’t know anything about each other, and while that may have not bothered Lavender a few months ago, she was starting to be put off by it. She wanted more from a relationship.

Lavender successfully went the rest of term without interacting with Ron. She suspected he’d also been avoiding her. She’d decided to go home for the holidays and pointedly chose not to sit with Ron on the train to King’s Cross Station. As she walked down the train looking for a free carriage, she saw Ron and Potter gossiping alone. Hoping to avoid being seen by them, she quickly walked past them, looking for another place to sit. To her surprise, she came across Granger sitting in a carriage by herself. 

Lavender lightly tapped on the glass and slid the door open to the carriage. “Hey, uh, do you mind if I sit with you? Parvati is sitting with Padma on their way home, and I don’t particularly get along with her,” Lavender said. Honestly, sitting with Padma would not be the end of the world, but this empty carriage with Granger was looking more interesting.

“Oh, sure, go ahead. Just so you know, I’ll have to leave for a bit to do my prefect duties, but it shouldn’t take me too long. Is that alright with you?” Granger replied.

“Yeah, that’s fine. I have just been avoiding Ron so…” Lavender admitted. Shit, why was she telling Granger that? She is one of his best mates.

“I get it. He is so dim sometimes. Whatever he did, he deserves whatever he gets,” Granger said with indignation. “I swear he just does not think things through.”

Lavender giggled at this and replied, “You’ve got that right. Like what was he thinking when he gave me a bedazzled hair clip? I never wear hair clips. I guess he was too busy snogging me to notice.” As soon as she said this, she wished she could have taken it back. She noticed Granger wilt slightly at the mention of snogging Ron. “Truth be told, it made me realize that I don’t know much about Ron, and he obviously doesn’t know much about me. I don’t see how we can keep dating like this.”

“Lavender… Ron is too simple for a wonderful girl like you,” Granger spoke with the hint of a blush across her cheeks.

This surprised Lavender. Not only was Granger complimenting her, but she was being shy about it too. “I appreciate you saying that Hermione. I suppose I might just give it a bit more time before quitting, but I’m not sure how to even continue to try. Did you see that horrible necklace I got him? I was initially so blinded by my big fat crush on him, that I just picked out the most over the top romantic gesture I could.” 

Granger laughed at this, which was a nice sight to see. “It’s kind of funny how things turn out. You hold someone in such esteem in your mind only to find out they are nothing like what you thought they’d be.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just saw him as this hunky, tall, adventurous guy who would sweep me off my feet,” Lavender sighed. 

“Someone will sweep you off your feet, even if it isn’t him. Don’t worry,” Granger assured Lavender. “Anyways, sorry. I have to go to my prefect meeting. I’ll see you later.” And with that, Granger left the carriage and made a right.

Lavender sat there contemplating what had just happened. She had been complimented by  _ Granger _ . And was it just Lavender, or were the vibes with Granger getting kind of confusing? She was still a know-it-all, but she was genuine and always seemed to say the right things at the right time.

An hour or so had passed before Lavender heard the typical “Anything from the trolley, dear?” She bought herself a fair share of snacks. She had started to turn away from the trolley, when she decided to get Granger some snacks too. She would be back soon anyway, so there was nothing weird about that… right?

“Hey! Oh my goodness, you will not believe what I have been through. Ever since George and Fred-- you know the Weasley twins-- started that joke shop, I have been dealing with all kinds of mayhem in the common room and corridors. Even here! I just had to confiscate a package of silver sparkling snakes,” she huffed, before plopping herself onto the bench across from Lavender.

“You’ve got to admit, they were a fun bunch. I even visited their shop during the summer holiday,” Lavender perused while nibbling on a chocolate frog. 

“Their products are just such a nightmare for us prefects. If students set off their fireworks in class, for example, it would be us prefects who ultimately get a talking to,” Granger said with a sigh.

“I’d never really thought about that before,” she replied flatly.

“Yes, and I’m tired of being the bad guy. I just want to make sure everyone is taking their classes seriously.” Lavender could see resignation on Granger’s face.

“Well, it seems like you are doing a good job,” Lavender said, trying to comfort Granger. “You take your job as a prefect more seriously than Ron at least.”

“Do not even get me started on Ron. It is like pulling teeth to get him to enforce school rules. I don’t even try anymore.”

The two continued to gossip. It was clear Granger was eager to complain about Ron, given their current estrangement, and Lavender was just enjoying Granger’s company, as odd as that may seem. Before they knew it, the train had pulled into the station and the students were encouraged to exit the train.

“Have a good Christmas Lavender,” Granger said with a smile. “I’ll see you next term.” Before Lavender had a chance to respond, Granger had already started to walk away towards a muggle looking couple Lavender assumed to be her parents. It was then that she realized she never gave Granger the snacks she got her.

***

It was Christmas morning, and Lavender had been up for hours already. She and her parents had already exchanged gifts, so she was back up in her room, trying to write a letter to send Ron by owl. What do you even say to your estranged boyfriend on Christmas? Is “Merry Christmas” too short? She was about to pull her hair out when an owl landed gently at her window sill and promptly tapped her window twice with its beak.

“Hello little guy. What do you have there?” she asked aloud, mostly to herself. She took the letter from the ankle of the owl. It was addressed to her. Before she even had time to guess who it could be from, she was tearing open the paper. It was a note from Granger.

_ Good Morning, Lavender.  _

_ I hope this letter finds you well! I was writing my typical Christmas morning letter to everyone when I thought of you. I know we aren’t close, but I have enjoyed getting to know you a little better over the past couple of weeks. Well, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas. _

_ -Hermione Granger _

How peculiar. Lavender half expected the letter to be from Ron, but she remembered that his owl was not nearly as graceful as this owl. It was safe to say that she was not expecting a letter from Granger. Lavender quickly wrote a short reply of “Thank you for the letter. I feel the same way. Merry Christmas!” and tied it to the owl’s ankle. The owl neatly and politely turned before flying away.

After that, Lavender seemed to forget about writing to Ron entirely. She plopped onto her fluffy mattress and proceeded to daydream about spending more time with Granger. Before she knew it, Christmas had come and gone. On December 29th, she finally remembered she had meant to write Ron and that he had appeared to write her as well.

***

It was already time to return to Hogwarts for the spring term. Lavender had just run through the barrier to Platform 9 ¾ when she spotted Ron. He walked towards her looking none-too-cheery. “Hey Lav. Walk with me?” he asked quietly. From what she could tell, Ron was always almost late to the train, so the fact that he was meeting her on the platform this early seemed like a bad omen.

“Sure, Won,” she spoke softly . “Let me go put my things by the train to be loaded real quick.” She quickly dropped off her trunk and returned to Ron. “What’s going on?”

“Um, first, I want to apologize for not writing to you on Christmas,” he started.

“Oh, don’t worry about it! I forgot to write to you too,” she replied in a high pitch tone.

“Well, honestly Lavender, don’t you think it is a bad thing we both forgot to write to each other? I mean, most couples wouldn’t forget that sort of thing…,” he said before trailing off.

“I guess so,” Lavender responded. “Where are you going with this?” Truth be told, she knew exactly where this was going.

“I just think it is obvious that this isn’t working out,” he said shyly while brushing his waves out of his eyes. When she watched his arm rise, she noticed he wasn’t wearing the necklace she got him. “I want to… break… up.”

Lavender was silent for a moment. She could agree that this wasn’t working out, but it still hurt to be broken up with. Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke. “I understand.. I agree. We should break up.” With that, she turned on her heel to load onto the Hogwarts Express. She looked for Parvati and sat next to her without saying anything the whole way back to Hogwarts.


End file.
